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Vociferous and unequivocal

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There is no method to madness; I was slated to take an exam of an abominable subject on 17th March 2004. The subject was despised to say the least, and I had to cram through everything. But well, how cares about science when Pakistan take the field the day before the exam. It was the 16th of March of 2004, Pakistan took on India at Rawalpindi . It could not have been better for a cricket fanatic like me. Moreover, somebody for whom my heart never stopped beating made a comeback after a lapse of 381 days. Yes, the Pathan from the war-torn Khyber Agency made a mark right upfront by scoring 80 off 58 balls and plucked out Ganguly and Yuvraj to give Pakistan a well-needed win. I was ecstatic , and went to school next day with an open chest. Yes, it was Afridi's come back in the national side. Guess what , I was congratulated by all my friends; even relatives abroad called to give me thumps up.

I an avid cricket lover, but the support for Pakistan is out of sheer patriotism. Perha…

Dunkwart A Rustow in the book “Philosophers and Kings”
said that it is pertinent to ask to who is leading whom from where
to where? The book is riveting to say the least for students of
leadership since many academics have pitched-in their thoughts.
However , for the consumption of the readers let us dissect the above
statement in light of the uphill task that the men in green are to
face in a matter of 51 days : The World Cup. Indeed, the most coveted event in cricket happens to be
the World Cup; 4 years are worth waiting for as teams lock horns to
get their hands on the trophy. Right from 1975's first edition to
that of 2011, the skippers of the teams that clinched top spots (not
necessarily the title) performed exceedingly well. The 11th edition of ICC's premier event
begins on the 14th of February in Australia and New
Zealand. The two trans-Tasman rivals last hosted the World Cup way
back in 1992. the green shirts out of nowhere won the title under the
inspirational and …

Freedom is something that we all covet. History is rife with examples showing that the quest for freedom became a major casus belli. Perhaps, the preservation of freedom is the most vital interest of any state. I am hastily penning-down this piece on the eve of our independence day. 67 years have passed since Pakistan adorned the map of the world after a colossal yet controversial struggle. The focus of the piece is on the current impediments which mar us in fructifying our potentials. What can or should be done is something which worries one and all. However, I would not paint a morbid picture because despondency is in sin.

Pakistan and her inhabitants are typified with resiliency. The country has borne everything, from continual political instabilities to foreign incursions . Much of this is a product of our own inanities. The despair and frustration of the populace is shunned aside on this festive day, wherein one and all show their veneration and love for their motherland. When …

Richard Nixon’s
book “leaders” is a stunner; the book expounds upon the men that changed the
world. Probably, all those leaders on whom Nixon dwelt were men with immaculate traits. One
hallmark which was common in almost all was their ability to speak with
authority. Winston Churchill, Charles De Gaulle and Douglas MacArthur spoke
with such panache that all were awe-inspired. Forget about the likes of
Churchill or Yoshida for that matter; let us talk about the man at the helm in
Pakistan, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. For the sake of simplicity, the piece
will not even try to compare Sharif’s oratory prowess with that of the
above-mentioned leaders, but will instead shed-light on his much-awaited speech
to the nation, especially his “strategy” as regards power crisis and terrorism.
The man in
question took over the coveted crown of
premiership for the third time in June this year. This was possible because his
party overpowered not only the PPP but also PTI,led by cricket legend, Imra…

The trajectory of Indo-Pak relations
has been pretty simple: a collision course has been followed by both these
neighbors over the past 66 years. Let’s
not go into the main conflict and the crises that emanated from that. The piece
will shed light on a few sardonic antics shown by the Indian defense forces and
government/opposition off-late. In theprocess this piece will deride
some hollow arguments made by the ever-growing clique of liberals in Pakistan. Civilian supremacy is something that
many of us covet; often Indian Army is given credit for being truly
professional, for they haven’t as yet subverted the government. Yes indeed, it
is something creditable however; we need not compare the milieus of both the
countries. The difference was there for all to see. Had Nehru appointed General
P N Thappar as defense minister, for instance sake , things might have been
very different. One can disagree with many of the assertions made by General
Ved Prakash Malik in his book “Kargil:
from s…

Introduction:
American foreign
policy is based upon the infamous Monroe Doctrine and in fact more importantly
on the ideas of President Woodrow Wilson. Before, going into that let’s first
establish the fact that the international system is anarchic, brutal and based
upon national interest. Thus, the realist worldview takes primacy over
liberalism, which calls for cooperation, diplomacy and disarmament. Woodrow Wilson
always aspired America to put more weight in the international system , but the
rationale was for humanitarian purposes
and the endorsement of democracy. However, it is imperative to fathom
the fact that America has always looked after her geo-strategic interests under
the garb of liberalism. For instance the Marshall Plan and Truman Doctrine were
not enunciated due to any love lost for Greece, Turkey and other European
countries, but because the Americans had to counter Communism. The reason why
American foreign policy is being discussed here is that it has a direct b…